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NEW YORK (AP)—The New York Mets’ Citi Field opener will be Monday, April 13, a day earlier than originally planned, and the new ballpark will open with a night game.
At the request of the Mets, San Diego and Major League Baseball agreed to move up the first game to allow Tuesday to be an off-day in the middle of the three-game series. New York wanted to have the Tuesday open in case the opener is postponed by bad weather.
San Diego hosts San Francisco on April 12 and will fly from the West Coast to the East Coast with no day off. Under its labor contract, MLB is allowed seven West-to-East trips without a day off in each league per season, as long as there is no more than one per club.
But because the Padres won’t have an off-day, the April 13 opener cannot start earlier than 7 p.m., according to the collective bargaining agreement.
At the request of the Mets, San Diego and Major League Baseball agreed to move up the first game to allow Tuesday to be an off-day in the middle of the three-game series. New York wanted to have the Tuesday open in case the opener is postponed by bad weather.
San Diego hosts San Francisco on April 12 and will fly from the West Coast to the East Coast with no day off. Under its labor contract, MLB is allowed seven West-to-East trips without a day off in each league per season, as long as there is no more than one per club.
But because the Padres won’t have an off-day, the April 13 opener cannot start earlier than 7 p.m., according to the collective bargaining agreement.